Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck-Quick Step): “It’s a nice one because it’s been a really hard La Vuelta until now. I didn’t have many chances to win. Today it was a long fight to get in the breakaway. There have been dozens and dozens of attacks. It was incredible. I must have attacked 20 times myself. It was really intense and painful. There were good climbers with me so I wasn’t really confident. I tried to race smart and I received some great help from my teammate Tim Declercq. He is a big part of this win and he deserves it as much as I do. The final climbs were a bit like the Ardennes. I like this kind of short effort, I’m able to be among the best when it’s under 10 minutes of climbing. It’s also special because it’s my 10th stage victory on a Grand Tour and that makes a nice number. The atmosphere in the last climb was crazy. It felt like a classic, with all the flags and the crowds. It gave me a lot of motivation. The Basque Country is a bit like Flanders, they love cycling and it’s nice.”
